Chapter 1

HAZEL

I stare at the person in front of me as defiantly as I can. I’m not about to let myself be bullied again. I have faced a lot of bullies this past month, and now, I’m ready to speak up. I can’t just stand back and allow other people to control me just as they have been doing before.

My taskmaster looks back at me with surprise swirling around his features. I know why he is surprised because I am too. I never expected that I would stand up to him, and he didn’t either. But now, here I am, looking at him as he looks back at me, all the while standing my ground.

“What did you just say, girl?” he asks me in a firm tone.

Actually, this is the assistant taskmaster for all the maids in the Moonshine Pack. The head taskmaster usually handles most of the work, but since he is away at the moment, the assistant taskmaster is stepping in. That’s why my workload and those of about five other maids have been handed over to the assistant taskmaster.

The five other girls that I’m supposed to be working with today know about the hatred the taskmaster has for me, so they decided to capitalize on it, feigning illness so that the taskmaster has no other choice but to assign all the work to me. But he won’t be doing that. I’ll definitely make sure of it.

I know why the taskmaster hates me, and I’ll try to keep it brief.

The Werewolf Kingdom is divided into four separate Kingdoms and each of these Kingdoms is ruled by a King. The Northern Kingdom is ruled by King Arnold while his brother King Ethan rules the Eastern Kingdom under which our pack, The Moonshine Pack is a part. The Southern Kingdom is ruled by King Hunter, and the Western Kingdom is ruled by King Garner.

Well, back to the topic at hand, the reason the taskmaster hates me is because the King of the Eastern Kingdom is my mate.

But at the moment, I’m having none of his hatred. I won’t allow myself to be kicked around like a toy anymore just because I was unfortunate enough to be a maid in this pack. I have endured their bullying for a long time, and I can’t continue with it any longer. With that thought firmly in my mind, I look the taskmaster in the eye and say my next words.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do what you’re asking me to do. The workload is beyond my capacity.”

With that, I turn around and leave the place, turning a deaf ear to my name being yelled furiously by the taskmaster, or rather, the assistant taskmaster.

ARNOLD

I’m really curious about my brother’s mate. At first, I didn’t know he had even found his mate because we have both been busy carrying out our duties and traveling around the packs in our respective Kingdoms. When we were done with that duty, we got down together and he told me all about what happened when he went to the Moonshine Pack.

He told me that her name is Hazel and she rejected him when he asked her to be his mistress. But the thing is that I can see part of the problem here. She probably didn’t like him asking her to be his mistress when they could just be normal mates. But knowing my brother, he isn’t ready to settle down with one woman just yet. He wants to keep playing the field until he is exhausted, but it’s not supposed to be so.

Now, as he sits across the table from me, I can see that he looks really forlorn and unhappy. The rejection — which wasn’t even an actual one since she didn’t reject him outright — must be taking a toll on him, and I have to do something about it.

“Hazel…” he whispers absentmindedly. “She is so beautiful.”

“Chin up, brother. It’s not the end of the world,” I say in an attempt to cheer him up.

“You don’t understand, Arnold. She rejected me. Like, she looked me in the eye and rejected me straight up.”

“That’s the mistake you’re making, Ethan. You think I don’t understand the situation when I understand it perfectly well. She rejected your offer, not you. You made her an offer of being your mistress and she didn’t take it because she doesn’t want it. She probably just wants to be your mate,” I explain to him.

“Is that what you think? Well, you’re wrong,” he replies in a sad tone. “Every woman wants me; even just a taste of me once in their lifetime. I still don’t understand why she rejected me. She should be honored that she is my mate and I asked her to be my mistress.”

I pity my twin brother at that moment. He looks so sad that it’s heart wrenching. I want to do something to cheer him up so I start to think hard and fast. After a short while, I manage to come up with something.

“Ethan, I have a suggestion…” I start to say but he cuts me off almost immediately.

“Just forget it. It won’t do any good in this situation,” he replies, standing up immediately and heading for his room. A few seconds later, I hear the door to his room bang shut loudly.

He thinks he understands but he doesn’t. I still have to help him even though he doesn’t want my help. He is my brother, and I can’t just stand by, watching as sadness envelops him until he can’t find the joy in his life.

***

A few hours later, I knock on the door to Ethan’s room and a few seconds later, he begrudgingly answers.

“Come in, Ethan,” he calls out, grumbling lowly. “Even if I don’t give you permission, I know that you will still come in anyway.”

I push the door open and find him sitting at his desk. I walk to the bed, lower myself on it and as he speaks, his back is to me.

“What do you want?”

“I just want to say that I’m sorry about the situation you are in with your mate, and I want to offer my help.”

“What help can you offer to her from far away?” he says bitterly.

“What do you mean, Ethan? Is she in trouble?” I question him.

“I just got a call from someone in the Moonshine Pack. He said Hazel is being bullied by some of the maids in the pack as well as one of the taskmasters. I can’t even do anything to help her right now. I’m the King presiding over her pack, and I’m just as useless to her as anyone else.”

There is pain in his voice as he speaks, and I stand up, walk over to the chair he is sitting on, and place a firm hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

“Don’t talk like that, Ethan. You can still be of help to her. I told you before that I have a suggestion and I still do now.”

“What’s it, Arnold? Lay it bare before me,” he says.

“We finish with whatever we have to do here as soon as possible and head over to the Moonshine Pack to help Hazel with the bullying issue. When we do that, she will see you as her savior and you can use the opportunity to bond with her. She will accept you in no time,” I explain.

“That sounds like a mighty good suggestion. Let’s get on with it,” he says with more cheer in his voice than I have heard in a while.